it is not $40 for internet and $10 for voice; it's $50 for fusion (used to be $40 before they increased it and gave $10 off per month for a year to new members) which includes both voice and internet; plus about $10 depending on where you live for phone related taxes. For me in Albany, it is $10.53 so my bill is $60.53

Lots of people are complaining about transparency; maybe sonic could add a naked DSL option with a fee of $6.50 (the same as the digital subscriber line charge that they would get when there is a phone line) so sonic does not lose the money but allows you to not get a voice line you don't want and save on paying the other $3.50 of taxes.

I do like and use the voice line and all the goodies included like domestic AND international calling included, caller id,call forwarding, spam blocking with nomorobo, voicemail to email, etc. They typically come with a cell phone plan but it was extra with my at&t line when i switched to sonic many years ago (i think at&t was charging me $6 per month for caller id at the time!)

The reason Sonic bundle voice service is because they can collect extra $6.50 for universal line costs and they can collect 800 calls that customers dial out and incoming calls fees. It may not be a lot each line but it is a revenue source and since they have the line already so it is no extra costs for them.

Sonic is selling you a phone line to which Internet access has been bundled. By selling you a phone line, it can use the ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier), AT&T, copper pair between you and the Central Office. It can then put DSL2+ on that line. Because access by CLECs (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers) is required by ILECs, they are really giving you DSL2+ on the line for free that they lease from AT&T. If there was no phone service, AT&T would be allowed to change Sonic a prohibitive rate for the copper loop alone. So it is only by selling the phone service that Sonic can bundle it into a Fusion Internet+Phone package.

I can't believe all this whining and complaining in on this thread. You have a Gigabit connection something most companies pay $500-$1000 per month for plus high install cost. If you have a VoIP that is not charging you the taxes that Sonic does, they probably don't obey local tax laws. Sonic should just charge $80-$100 for this service and include all fees and taxes because that is the value you get and more. It is a gigabit, a phone line, open vpn included, a free fax line (outgoing and incoming) via the sonic account login page, etc).No, i don't work for them but I find these complains unbelievable for the value you receive. Switch to comcast or ATT and see if you like them better. Sonic is also the only service that has spoken up for net neutrality so they are truly a local gem.Last but not least, Sonic provides detailed info on taxes on their website so nothing should have been a surprise: